Moon River
by Catherine4
Summary: Set about a week after the season finale. The gang try and get on with their lives apart. Summer & Seth mostly, but everyone has a part to play! Chapter 5 up
1. Chapter 1

_Hey all!! this is my first OC fic, I hope you like it! It's Seth & Summer mostly, because I think they're fantastic. It takes place after the Season 1 finale but I haven't seen all the eps leading up to it because I live in the UK so a few things may be a little inaccurate. Please tell me if something I write doesn't fit with the show! Reveiws are always welcome, but I mainly write for my own amusement. As usual, I don't own the OC or any of the characters, but given half the chance I wouldn't mind stealing Adam Brody.... ;)_

_PG-13 to be safe!! Enjoy! :) Catherine xxx_

* * *

Chapter 1

Seth sat on the edge of his sailboat boat, staring out across the water. The ocean breeze was blowing through his hair and making it more messed up than it was to begin with. He needed a shower. He looked at his watch, 8:30 pm. He had half an hour to check into his hotel or he'd be sleeping on shore again. And he didn't like the sound of another sleepless night.

The boat was tied to a mooring in a small dock in Ventura. His Tahiti It had been a week sinse he left Newport, and he'd thought of nothing sinse. The whole point of him leaving for a while was to take a break, clear his head but he just kept remembering how he left things with the people he loves and hated himself for causing them so much pain.

He kept going over and over in his mind what he'd written in the letters to Summer and his parents, cursing himself for the way they must have sounded. There was so much he wanted to say to them, stuff that couldn't be communicated through writing. He wanted them to understand, why he had to get away, but it must have seemed to them like he was running away.

All the stuff he needed to say could only be said face to face, but he hadn't wanted to see anyone when he left. Sure, he'd said superficial goodbyes, but that wasn't enough. He wanted to turn around and sail straight back down the coast but his stupid pride wouldn't let him. That, and the fear that they wouldn't want him back.

Ok, that was a lie. He knew his parents would welcome him back with open arms. They'd be mad he left, sure, but they'd welcome him back. Ryan was in Chino with Theresa, it would be weird without him there, and it wouldn't feel like home. But he'd welcome him back too. You know, if he was there. But Summer... How could he expect a gorgeous girl like her to take him back after he just took off? It just wouldn't happen. He still found it hard to believe that their relationship happened; it just felt like a dream.

Seth sighed and stood up, stepping off the wooden deck onto dry land. It was quarter to 9, and the hotel took about that time to get to. He slung his back over his shoulder and checked the rope was secure again and began to stroll up the quayside. He could hear the gentle waves lap up against the larger boats docked along side his, and could see the moonlight glinting off the water.

'This. This is why I left' he thought. It was so peaceful, he felt relaxed. 'I know it was right for me to leave, they'll get over it.'

Seth was fooling himself, he knew if he ever went back he'd have to sell his soul for Summer to forgive him. He knew her, he knew what he must be doing to her. She acts tough, like nothing can touch her, but inside she's not like that at all. She'd let him get close to her, closer than any other guy, and he'd left her.

'Way to go Seth' he muttered to himself and turned left onto the sidewalk to begin the walk to The Harbourside hotel in which he hoped he could get a decent night's sleep.

10 minutes later, he walked through the double glass doors into the entrance. The only other person around was a middle-aged man at the front desk who was leaning back in his office chair reading a book. He looked up when Seth walked through the door and smiled.

"Just in time" he said. "You're lucky, I was just about to go to bed." Seth smiled back but didn't really know what to say. His mind was still back in Newport. "How can I help?"

"Er, a single room please, just for the night."

The man nodded. "Sure, that'll be $32 dollars." Seth handed him his credit card and he handed him back a key. "Sign here please, I'll go and get my daughter to show you where everything is."

The man, who he identified as 'Mr. Richard Murphy' from the name plaque on the desk, disappeared through a door behind the desk.

Seth signed the form in front of him and put down the pen, he leant on the desk waiting.

"Natalie, you're needed" he heard him call, then footsteps thudding down a stair case.

"Come on Dad, can't you do it? I'm waiting for a phone call."

"It's won't take a minute."

There was a pause and Seth imagined the girl sighing and shooting her father an irritated look. God knows, he'd done that enough when his parents asked him to do something he didn't want to do.

The handle on the door opened and she came out, looking quite annoyed. Her expression changed instantly when she saw Seth standing there. She smiled at him and he flashed her a shy grin.

"Hi, I'm Natalie."

"Seth" he said simply. He didn't meant to be rude, he just wasn't in the mood for small talk.

The girl was about his age, with shoulder length blonde hair. She was wearing an old pair of jeans and a cropped green top. "I'll show you to you're room."

Seth nodded and followed her silently up the stairs. The fatigue had suddenly hit him, all he wanted to do was go to sleep. Sailing a boat was exhausted work, but he hadn't noticed how tired he had got.

They stopped outside a door on the first floor, marked '17'. Seth unlocked the door and stepped inside. Natalie followed him.

"There are fresh towels in the bathroom, and shampoo and soap. Kettle's over there with tea and coffee... I don't think there's anything else. Breakfast is at 9, I'll see you then."

She smiled at him again and he smiled back. She seemed very chatty and easy going, and the way she did everything made him think she was flirting with him, but she seemed like the sort of girl who would flirt with anyone, in an innocent sort of way.

He mumbled goodnight and she left, closing the door behind her. He flung his bag down in the corner and kicked off his shoes, collapsing on the bed. He felt like he should get up and have a shower and a shave but his limbs were heavy and he couldn't find the energy to get up. He figured no one would be seeing him before tomorrow morning so he just closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off to sleep, not even bothering to change.

Seth knew his dreams would consist of the same things they had done for a week, but somehow that didn't seem as bad in a warm, comfy bed. He was back in Newport Beach with his friends and parents. But most of all Summer. In his semi-conscious state he sadly realised that things would never be like that again with her. But he still had his dreams, where they were still together and nothing could keep them apart.

* * *

"Coop, it's 8 in the morning. On a Saturday. What the hell are you doing?"

Marissa shrugged. "I'm taking you out for breakfast."

Summer blinked. "What?" She sighed at her best friend's impossibly chirpy mood and stepped aside to let her through the front door. She was dressed I her pink fluffy dressing gown and her hair was a mess. Her eyes were only half open and she still felt half asleep. "Can't we just stay here for breakfast? We've got bagels."

"Not a chance, you've hardly left the house sinse Seth left."

Summer groaned. Not that name. She never wanted to hear that name again right now. Seth Cohen had hurt her, not that she'd admit that to anyone but herself. She didn't know what she'd do if she saw him right now, but she imagined it would involve the inflicting of pain somehow and a lot of yelling.

Marissa breezed past her and up the stairs to Summer's room. Summer shut the door and grudgingly followed. "Fine, but there better be coffee."

Marissa sat down on the bed and Summer sent to the wardrobe to try and find something to wear. "What's put you in such a good mood anyway?" she asked, discarding several skirts to the floor. "I thought with Ryan gone you'd be walking around like... well, me."

Marissa looked down at the floor. "Yeah well..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say. "I guess I was just trying to forget everything."

Summer turned around and saw Marissa's expression change to sadness. "God, Marissa. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to kill your buzz."

Marissa forced a smile. "Never mind, I think I would have driven everyone crazy anyway."

Summer pulled on a pair of jeans and started her search for a top. She found a yellow t-shirt and decided it would do. She then started fixing her hair in the mirror. "So, have you heard from either of the boys?"

Dammit. Could she get more obvious? She could have just said 'have you heard from Ryan?' but nooooo... Why would Marissa have heard from Seth? Not that she cared. She was over Cohen. Ok, not 'over' exactly, but she was definitely too mad to want to talk to him. But that didn't stop her checking her cell phone every 10 minutes sinse he left.

Whatever. She stopped that mental rambling, going down hat train of thought again wasn't the most productive way to spend her time.

"I'm just going to use the bathroom" she told her friend, who was reading on of Summer's magazines she'd left on the floor. "Give me 10 minutes."


	2. Chapter 2

_Here is the second chapter of my fic, I hope you like it. I'm really getting into this story now, it shouldn't be to long until the next update, Collage work permitting of course. Enjoy :)_

* * *

Chapter 2

The girls walked arm in arm down the street in town and stopped outside a little café they always went to on the way to school. The smell of bacon hit her when she walked through the door and she was suddenly hungry and heard her stomach rumble. She was still too tired though. They found an empty booth next to the window and sat down when the waiter came over.

"May I take your order?" he asked in a pleasant voice, but Summer could tell it was too early for her too.

"Erm... Pancakes and maple syrup please" Marissa answered, "and an orange juice." She looked across the table at Summer.

"Coffee!" she said, and slammed her head on the table. Marissa rolled her eyes.

"Come on, treat yourself."

Summer picked up the menu grudgingly but then gave in. "And a Blueberry muffin."

Marissa smiled. "That's better. We're going to have a serious girly day today, I'm determined we're going to have fun, despite our useless men. Or what were our men..." Marissa stopped herself quickly; she didn't want to get depressed again.

"Day? You didn't say anything about a day, I signed up for breakfast, that's all."

Marissa gave her a look. "What else do you have planned?"

Summer thought. "Erm, TV?"

"Thought so, come on we haven't done anything together, just us, in ages. And if you really want to afterwards, then we can watch TV."

Summer gave in. She knew Marissa needed cheering up as much as she did; she was just putting a brave face on. Ryan had messed her about too, but she couldn't help feeling that they were both to blame. It didn't matter though, Marissa was her best friend. It was her job to be on her side when it came to guys. And to cheer her up when things went wrong.

"You're right, we're going to have a great day."

Marissa looked up as the waiter delivered their breakfast. "You've changed your mind pretty quickly."

"Complaining?"

"No, I just wondered, that's all."

"Screw guys!" She said, and then stopped. She smiled and shook her head. "That came out wrong. I meant who cares what Ryan and Seth are up to, we don't need them."

Marissa smiled but inside she was hurting. She needed Ryan, and she didn't pretend to herself for one moment that she didn't. No one else could know though, not even Summer. No on else could see how much Ryan's absence was affecting her, not even her best friend.

She knew what she was like when she let her feelings get on top of her. She only had to look at Mexico to remember. She was still in therapy, she wasn't over it yet, but she wasn't going to give up this time. She was determined she was going to deal with things.

She missed Ryan, she was pretty sure that was obvious to everyone. It had only been a just over a week. The first night she was a mess, but things were over between them a while before he left, although was always hoping they would work things out. That wouldn't happen now though. He was back in Chino with Theresa, and she was pregnant with his baby. She just had to accept that and move on.

"Marissa... Marissa... Coop!" Marissa snapped out her daze to find Summer staring at her.

"Did you say something?"

"Yeah, I asked what you had planned for the day. God, you were miles away. What were you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Ryan huh?"

"That obvious?"

"Only to me." Summer smiled. "I'm your best friend, I know you. I know how much you're hurting right now."

"Sum, I don't want to talk about it."

"Ok. But if you want to, come to me."

Marissa nodded and took a bite of her pancakes. "Right, so I thought we'd start out at the Mall..."

* * *

Seth awoke to the sound of a knock at the door. He opened his eyes and blinked, taking a moment to register where he was. Groaning, he grudgingly sat up. He's got a better night's sleep than the previous night, not surprising, he was inside, but he still could have slept better. He wasn't home. Ever sinse he as a kid he'd never slept well unless he was in familiar surroundings. At summer camp once when he was 9 his dad had to go and pick him up because he missed home so much. Perhaps that's part of the reason he'd had the 'geek' label for so long. Being called a baby in front of the entire camp didn't really do much for his self-esteem.

There was another knock at the door. Who could it be? He'd been in this city for about 15 hours, who would be knocking on his door? "Who is it?" he called.

"It's Natalie. You missed breakfast, I thought I'd bring you something."

Seth looked at his watch. 10:15am. He was planning to get up ages ago. "Just a second." He called and got out of bed. He caught sight of himself in the mirror. Hr looked terrible. He was still wearing yesterdays outfit, was in bad need of a shower, and had 3 days worth of stubble to shave off. If Summer was here, he would imagine she'd call him a tramp and refuse to go near him until he cleaned himself up.

Dammit, he was thinking about her again. She wasn't there though was she? Seth had made damn sure of that the moment he left. He shrugged and walked towards the door, not caring what he looked like. Who cared what this girl thought of him, it wasn't like he was ever going to see her again. There was only one girl he'd ever make an effort for.

She took the chain off the door and opened it to find Natalie standing there carrying a breakfast tray. She smiled at him, and he smiled back without even thinking about it. She didn't seem to notice how bad he looked. She had the sort of smile that could lift anyone's mood and Seth had to admit the attraction to her. She had her hair tied up in a messy ponytail and was wearing what he imagined to be a waitress uniform.

"Good morning, I brought you some toast and coffee."

Seth laughed nervously, suddenly wishing he had taken the time to tidy himself up. "Thank you" he said, blushing slightly. "Come in."

Natalie walked past him and set the tray down on the dressing table by the wall. "Hw are you finding the room?"

"It's lovely" Seth told her, ever the gentleman. "I haven't really reaped it's benefits yet though, I pretty much passed out as soon and I lay down."

"I can see you didn't have time to undress." She winked at him. Seth might have been annoyed at that comment in a hotel usually, but there was flirtations cheekiness about her and a look in her eyes that told him she was only joking.

"Yeah, right."

She smiled again; she never seemed to stop smiling. "Well, enjoy you're breakfast, I'll be back later to collect your tray."

And with that she left him to it. He wasn't really hungry but felt it rude not to eat the food she'd gone out of her way to bring him. He took a bite f the buttered toast and poured himself a coffee from the metal jug. He walked over to the window and looked out at the scene below him. his place was a mixture of a small seaside town and a typical Californian city, it was strange. Across the street he could see small cares and sailing shops and vendors selling ice creams, but when he looked out further there were large glass office blocks and chain clothing stores. He felt this little pocket in the city seemed somewhat out of place.

Seth sat on the edge of the bed and stripped of his shirt and pants. He made himself a mental not to find a launderette before he set sail again. And to call home and let his parents know he was Ok.

He knew they'd be pleased his Tahiti plan had gone out the window. But he also knew that he was close enough that his mom wouldn't think twice about driving up the coast to go and find him. And he really didn't want that.

His head was clearer now than it was when he left. He realised why Ryan had to leave, no matter how much he hated it. And he now fully realised how much he needed Summer, not that that was ever going to happen again. You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone and all that...

Seth stepped into the shower and relished the warm water drizzle over him. It had been a while sinse he'd felt this relaxed. Even sailing across the ocean with nothing around him but rippling water wasn't as relaxing as he'd hoped. The most relaxed he had ever been in his life was when he held Summer in his arms for the first time, knowing that all those years of pining after her had ended and he'd finally got her and she felt the same.

'Snap out of it Cohen' he muttered to himself. Like he hadn't spent enough time this past week thinking about her. It was over, he had to accept that.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Sorry it's been so long! Had a bit of an OC mental block recently but I think it's sorted now! I'm really enjoying building up the new characters but I'm kinda neglecting the Summer stuff so I think the next chapter will mostly be concentrating on that! Int he meantime, I hope this was worth the wait! As usual, I don't own The O.C. or the wonderful characters that Josh et al created. But Natalie, Jeremy and their dad are all mine!!!

Chapter 3

"So, what do you think?" Summer walked out of the changing cubicle in GAP sporting a bright pink 60s style dress and did her best pouty catalogue pose in front of the mirror. Marissa tried not to giggle, smirking instead. "You don't like it?"

"It's, erm…. Interesting."

"Nah, I don't like it either."

She vanished back behind the curtain. She was in a much better mood now, both of them were. Shopping cures all guy problems. At least, it does when it's your Dad's money you're spending.

"How do you feel about a mid morning coffee and pastry?"

Summer zipped up her jeans and turned to fix her hair in the mirror. "I don't think I could eat anything after breakfast, I'm feeling a little sick."

Marissa rolled her eyes and rummaged around him her purse for her lip gloss. "You didn't eat that much!"

Summer emerged from behind the curtain and gave her friend a look. "Not compared to you! Still brooding over Ryan?"

Both girls turned to walk out of the shop, struggling with the masses of bag's they'd acquired. "I wouldn't call it brooding." Marissa tried to defend herself but she'd never been a very good liar.

"Oh, really?" Summer shot her friend a suspicious glance. "Any way, we made a pact didn't we? No guy talk."

"Um… Yeah." Marissa didn't sound too convinced. She sighed. "Ryan told Kirsten he'd call me today, I'm just…"

"So you're not over him then. I knew it!" Summer nodded satisfactorily.

"And you're not over Seth, I know that!"

Summer's expression immediately changed. "This isn't about us."

Seth had been walking around the village all morning, taking in his surroundings. He didn't know why, he wasn't really planning on staying here that long, but something about the place made him want to stay here forever and never leave. It was so different to Newport here, nothing seemed the same. Even the ocean, the vast, monotonous ocean made a different sound, had a different feel to it. He just felt relaxed.

He wasn't even thinking about…

Dammit. He knew that wouldn't last long. He'd left Newport to try and forget her, so far his plan was showing no signs of kicking itself into action. He felt a light tap on his shoulder and turned around.

"Hey."

It was Natalie. Seth smiled despite himself and exhaled. "What are you doing here?"

"Dad gave me half an hour off before the lunch time rush, I thought I'd come and find you."

Seth sat down on the sand and motioned for her to join him. They stared out to see for a minute before Seth broke the silence.

"You always treat your guests this well?"

"Only the cute ones."

Natalie seemed to turn away shyly at that last comment and Seth wondered briefly whether it was just a slip of the tongue, but when he looked up she was looking at him straight in the eyes. She had a shy, innocent aura too her but Seth could see now that she wasn't afraid of saying what she though, or perusing what she wanted.

Now it was his turn to turn away. "Natalie, I have a girlfriend. At least I think I do…" Seth stopped with a jolt. He didn't mean to say that, that wasn't meant to come out. He hadn't talked to anyone about Summer sinse he left. Granted, for a large portion of his trip he only had himself to talk to and a few noisey seagulls, but he didn't really want to talk about it anyway.

"Never mind." He said and stood up, "I need to check on my boat."

He strolled back up to the path to the marina, not looking back at Natalie behind him once. He was embarrassed. He was still the Seth Cohen of old. At least on the inside, with his feelings. He still couldn't understand why people would want to talk to him. Years of teasing in junior high had conditioned him to be wary of everyone.

All the time he and Summer were together he couldn't believe that the gorgeous girl he'd been pining over most of his life was actually interested in him. He never took her for granted; at least he tried not to. Maybe that's what went wrong. He stopped being grateful for a second and it was all snatched away.

Down the sea front, Natalie stood and watched him. There was something not quite right about this guy, some hidden mystery that she felt compelled to uncover. This ex-girlfriend, she had a feeling Seth's description of her would go a lot deeper than that when pushed. But she could tell he wasn't in the mood, and she wasn't one to piss people off intentionally by delving into their love lives.

But still, she was intrigued. Something told her he wasn't the usual sea-loving tourist who stopped by every now and then for a bit of relaxation, and he definitely wasn't a fisherman. Seth had an uneasy air about him, it seemed to convey a sense of sadness, hidden behind his cute grin and quirky comebacks. He didn't mean to stop here, the fact that he appeared at her Dad's hotel in the middle of the night told her that.

This ex-girlfriend. He was running away.

"Too nosy for your own good, you'll get in trouble soon enough." Her older brother Jeremy took great delight in trying to wind her up whenever she got a sniff of something to 'investigate'. She didn't like the word nosey. Natalie preferred 'Inquisitive'. And his irritation techniques didn't work anyway. It was normally the other way around. She'd just mention his budding relationship with Christa and he'd shut right up. She kept that piece of ammunition for special occasions though, mostly she just ignored him.

A few minutes later she returned to The Harbourside Hotel to find said older Brother slumped behind the desk reading a magazine. The electric fan was working frantically to cool down the small foyer but was failing miserably. Jez had obviously been sweating and greeted her at first with only a halfhearted nod. She waved back at him.

"Where's dad?"

"Dealing with some delivery. I wasn't really paying attention. Where's lover boy?"

Natalie had began to head up the stairs but swiveled round, her blonde hair flicking her in the face. "Pardon me?"

Jeremy had a smirk on his face. "You know who. That posh guy. Am I right in thinking that room he booked isn't just going to be for the night?"

Natalie shrugged. "You'll have to ask him when he comes back."

A door somewhere near the kitchen slammed shut and Mr. Murphy appeared carrying a cardboard box filled with vegetables. "Ah, great. You two can give me a hand with this lot."

"Someone needs to man reception. Off you got Natty."

Richard rolled his eyes. "Jeremy, a bit strong lad like you will shift all this in no time. Stop teasing your sister."

Natalie watched them both vanish out the back and slumped down in the office chair, turning the fan up a few notches. She smiled. She hoped Seth was staying for more than one night. But she wouldn't give her brother the satisfaction of knowing she felt like that.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey! Here's the next chapter! Sorry It's been so long, we were un a break between seasons over here in the UK and I never feel inspired during hiatus!! But the first episode of S2 aired last night so I'm getting back into it now! I know there's no Ryan yet, but there will be! Honest! I hope you enjoy! Catherine xxx_

_I don't own any characters, Santa failed to answer my request for Seth...._

Chapter 4

It had been a good hour since Natalie had left him and he was still sitting in the exact same spot on the beach. He'd taken his cell out of his pocket about 10 minutes ago and his finger was hovering over the 'dial' button with Summer's name and number staring at him like an angry cat. He'd called home from a phone booth, hoping they wouldn't recognise the number and not answer. It hadn't worked. He wondered if it would have done for Summer, but unfortunately he'd run out of quarters.

How could he call her now? She wouldn't want to talk to him, he would be a fool to believe for one second that she'd give him the time of day after the way he left things. Wouldn't he? In a brief moment of madness Seth pressed the button and lifted it in his shaking had to his ear. It rang. Once. Twice, Three times. For a hopeful moment Seth thought she might be out and save him some embarrassment. No suck luck.

"What?"

She'd answered the call, good start. Then Seth's mind started to panic. Crap, what did he say?

"Cohen, I know it's you. If you have the nerve to ring me after the way you treated me the least you could do is say something. And 'Sorry' just won't cut it." She stopped for a moment to give him a chance to speak. He didn't. What a grade A freak, a gorgeous girl which he was stupid enough to leave in the first place was giving him a sort-of second chance and he was sitting there staring at a seagull saying sod all.

"Be like that then. Goodbye ass."

When the dialing tone rang in Seth's ears her suddenly snapped out of his trance. God damn it!!! Why the hell did he not say anything? If he hadn't blown it before, he sure as hell had now.

* * *

Summer was awoken from her slumber by a knock at her bedroom door. She blinked, taking a moment to realise that she'd fallen asleep. She was sprawled out on her bed surrounded by Math homework and history books. The knock came again, followed by a familiar voice. 

"Summer, are you in there?"

"Come in Dad."

He pushed the door open and greeted his daughter with a soda, a plate of cookies and a warm smile to match the weather outside.

"Sorry honey, did I wake you?"

Summer smiled back. "Yeah, you did. But I'm glad you did. I really need to get this done."

He sat down on the bed and bit into a cookie. "How are you doing?" There was a compassion in his eyes which Summer saw that was just too serious for her to cope with at the moment. A like hearted reply was in order.

"Algebra's giving me a headache, I'm thinking about giving up and going to watch a movie in my Pjs."

"Sum, that's not what I meant."

Summer sighed and moved the plate away from her dad so he couldn't steal any more choc chip cookies. "I don't want to talk about it. I'm totally…" not over him. NOT over him. "I'm totally over him."

It took some serious will power to leave out the n word from that sentence. Even though she totally was over Cohen. She just had to convince her heart that.

"If you ever want to talk…"

"I know. Wanna come watch Finding Nemo?"

Mr. Roberts smirked. "Tempting, but no. I have to get back to the office. Good luck studying." He kissed his daughter on the head and left the room.

Summer slumped back on her bed, sending paper flying everywhere and lay there staring up at the ceiling. Why would her brain not take notice of the front she was trying to put on? Seth was a jerk. He ran off, leaving a stupid plastic horse to tell her. What a pathetic reason to go anyway. Hello?! He coped 17 years without Ryan, and he cracks after a few hours? Please.

He lied. He told her he wasn't going anywhere. Then what did he do? He left. Typical. Although Summer didn't know why she had expected anything different, he was a man after all. And a geeky one at that.

So why was she feeling so crappy. Right, she knew why. But no, she wasn't going to give in. The ball was in Seth's court. If he really loved her he'd come back. She'd put it down to a moment of madness and might forgive him. Maybe. But how desperate would it look if she asked his parents where he was and went to find him. There was no way, like she would ever be that needy. She was staying right here in Newport. There was no way in hell she'd take her Dad's car when he goes on his business trip tomorrow and go and track down her looser of an ex.

If she did that she would be the geeky one. Who drives halfway up the coast for a Cohen??

* * *

Summer's took a deep breath and knocked on the Cohen's front door. Kirsten opened it a moment later and looked surprised to see her standing there on the doorstep. Summer had brought a box of Seth's stuff round. When she collected it up an few hours ago, after totally giving up on her school work and watching half of Finding Nemo, she had the intension of dumping it in the middle of his floor and forgetting all about him. But on the drive over there her intensions had changed somewhat. That was the problem with thinking things through so much. She had the habit of talking herself out of the logical and most healthy things to do way too quickly. 

"Hey Summer. What can I do for you?"

I'd like to know where your idiot of a son ran off to so I can go and beat him to death before telling him that I'm madly in love with him and want him to come home. Summer thought perhaps not, she'd go for the less embarrassing option.

"I came to give Seth's crap back."

Kirsten seemed to be suppressing a chuckle. "Sure come in. You know where his room is."

Summer smiled and walked up the stairs. She paused at Seth's open doorway. She smirked despite herself. The last time she was in here was under slightly different circumstances than now…

Dammit Roberts, stop it.

She sighed and put the box down on the floor. She sat down on the bed and looked around the blue papered room with sadness. It was so weird being here again knowing things were so different. She smiled when she saw Captain Oats on the bedside cabinet.

He picked up the horse and turned it over in her hands. "Well, looks like you won't be seeing princess Sparkles anymore. Don't blame me, blame Seth. It's totally his fault. He just doesn't have any regard for his horsy friends at all does he?"

It occurred to Summer then that she could do something about it. For a split second she realised that if she wasn't so stubbon she could get her man back and stop living in miserable denial.

"Come on then mister" she said to the horse. "You're coming with me." She was talking to a plastic horse, could she be any sadder? If Seth were here he'd be winding her up right now saying that his geeky ways had rubbed off on her. Taking the one thing that reminded her most of Seth totally ruined the statement of giving his stuff back, but that was just pretence anyway.

Kirsten sat in the kitchen eating a bagel, waiting with amusement for Summer to come back downstairs. How long did it take to dump a box of stuff anyway? He son was an idiot for running off. She wanted him home, Sandy wanted him home. And she was pretty sure Summer did even though she wouldn't admit that. She caught side of a piece of paper stuck to the refrigerator. Seth had called from a phone booth and she'd tracked down the area from the number.

She heard Summer thud down the stairs and she walked into the kitchen. "Er, Mrs Cohen? Do you…. Er… do you know where Se…"

"On the fridge." Kirsten interrupted. "I've tried, Sandy's tried. Maybe you could talk some sense into my son."


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey! I'll freely admit that not a lot happens in this chaper and it's a bit short, but the next one will be better I promose! Let me know what you think :D xx_

Chapter 5

Summer was fidgeting. She never fidgeted. She was meant to be cool, calm and collected, not a fidgety nervous wreck. She drummed her perfectly manicured nails on the end table as she rested the cordless phone between her ear and her shoulder.

_Ring ring. Ring ring. Ring_…. The answer message clicked on. "Hi, you've reached Marissa. Tell me who it is and I'll call you back."

"Dammit Coop! Get your ass over her and stop me making a fool of myself." She hung up with annoyance and chucked the phone onto the other couch. She started at her car keys on the table and wondered for the millionth time that day whether she should go or not. She wished Marissa would hurry up. Although she wasn't sure whether she actually wanted her to talk her out of it or not. She knew what she had to do, it wasn't as simple as the fact that she wanted him back. And it wasn't just pride either, there was a lot of other crap going on. A lot.

* * *

Seth on the hotel steps getting more and more depressed. He had gone over that short conversation with Summer over and over. Actually, it was more Summer yelling at him. She hated him, she never wanted to see him again. That's how it sounded anyway but it's highly likely that he was just reading way too much into things. She sounded pissed, that much was obvious. But he couldn't quite work out whether she genuinely hated him or if she was just upset.

He hurt her, he knew that. What right did her have to expect her to still want him after what he did? None. There was something in her voice that made him think again. She sounded troubled, like she had a lot on her mind. There was a time when she would tell him what was up in her life but that time had ended when he'd sailed away. She had Marissa to talk to, or her dad, or his parents if she really wanted. But she wouldn't want to talk to him.

"What's up?"

Seth hadn't even noticed Natalie standing behind him and it made him jump. "Hi."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you . You seemed miles away."

"Yeah, I was."

"Back home?"

"Yeah."

Seth tried to stop himself but he couldn't. What was he doing talking to a girl he'd known for a coupe of days? He didn't want to share with her, he wanted to share with Summer. He wanted to hold Summer and kiss her and tell her he loved her….

Oh, stop. He was just torturing himself, nothing was going to be the same with again. 'Dammit Cohen, Natalie's a nice girl. You can talk to her without it meaning anything.'

"Wanna talk about it? Because it's ok if you don't" she added quickly, as if she just heard herself say it and thought it sounded too forward.

It didn't, just for the record. Because Seth wasn't thinking about what Natalie was saying, he was too busy imagining what Summer was wearing.

"It's girl." He said.

Natalie gave a little giggle and her glossy hair fell over her shoulders. "I'd guessed that much. She dumped you?"

"No, I left."

Natalie stopped and thought for a moment. "Why? Not that it's any of my business."

"Nah, it's ok. It's complicated. Someone left, my…" Seth paused, wondering what exactly Ryan was to him. Friend? Best friend? Brother? "my brother."

"You're close?"

"Yeah. Well, he's not really my brother. More like foster brother. Sort of."

Natalie shook her head. "Don't bother explaining. I got it. You weren't kidding when you said things were complicated."

Seth nodded. "You're life seems uncomplicated. Nice family, nice house, nice town."

Nat shrugged. "Yeah, it's ok. Not nearly as exciting as I'd like though."

"Excitement is way over rated. Believe me."

* * *

Marissa glared at Summer. "Think about it" she told her best friend. "Think how he treated you, you can't just give in, if he wants you back make him work for it."

"But what if he doesn't? I still want him. He's probably sitting on a beach somewhere with a gorgeous blonde and can't even remember who I am."

"We're talking about Seth right? Seth Cohen? The guy who pined after you all through junior high like a little lost puppy? Do you really believe that?"

Summer sighed. "No. Like any blonde beach babe would be interested in him."

Marissa laughed and decided not to argue. Summer was doing her trademark 'mask feelings with humour' thing and there was not point trying to break through the barrier. It was easier just to agree.

"Do you want him?"

"Yes." Wow, the truth.

"Do you want to drive to get him? Because the only way you can get what you want is if you stop being so stubbon."

"Yeah, but… I'll look like a looser!"

"To who Summer! No one's gonna be there, except Seth and people you're never likely to see again in your life."

Summer didn't care. It was that old need she's always felt to keep up appearances resurfacing again. She knew that Marissa was right. She knew that her heart was right, perhaps not her head. She just needed someone else's opinion.

'Hmmm…' she thought.

"Pardon?"

Whoops, guess she said that out loud.

"I er… have to go" she said hurriedly and grabbed her jacket and car keys, ignoring her friend's questions and strange looks and left Marissa sitting in her living room.


End file.
